People have been stocking up on air fryers as they try to keep their energy bills down this winter, but food critic Jay Rayner is not impressed. The latest research from the British Retail Consortium shows the kitchen gadget is selling well.
But food aficionado Rayner tried one out and described the chips that came out of it as "dull, dry and very sad".
Writing in The Guardian, he said: "There is only one thing worse than no chips, when you have been promised them. It is thoroughly disappointing chips."
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He went on to describe them as "dull, mouth-drying batons of mildly soft carbohydrate, under a brittle brown carapace". He complained that despite having the word "fryer" in the name, "it does not fry. It doesn’t even come close to mimicking the glorious impact of placing foods in a pan of tumbling, boiling golden fat".
Retailer Argos has reported that it sold almost 100 of the devices an hour in September, while sales at Lakeland rose by 90%. For the article, Rayner borrowed an £89.99 Cosori device, and cooked garlic parmesan chicken wings, and handmade chips for his review.
He added three teaspoons of vegetable oil and some smoked paprika to the chips, and cooked for nearly 40 minutes. He said they were "still semi-raw" after the recommended 28 minutes. When they were ready, he said: "They are sort of cooked, but they are dull and dry and very sad, as am I."
In conclusion, Rayner said: "As an alternative to a deep fat fryer, this particular appliance has been a total, abject failure. It’s also worth noting the capacity is small. You can only feed two or three people at most with one of these. After that you’ll be cooking in batches.
"But that doesn’t mean they do not have significant virtues. They are seriously energy efficient, which matters in the current economic climate. They preheat very quickly. And I can see that you could use them to cook a whole range of things very successfully.
"The US food blogger, photographer and self-styled air fryer evangelist Rebecca Abbott has recorded herself cooking everything from lamb chops and rib-eye steaks to lobster, cheesecake and pumpkin pie in hers. Just don’t get one if what you’re dreaming of is really good chips. That way lies disappointment."
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